A crimson light flickered into view, revealing an elegant magical crest on the back of Alvin's neck.
Under the moonlit sky, it looked exceptionally bewitching.
The First Embrace, for a vampire, it was a sacred ritual.
When a True Ancestor bestowed it, the level and status of the mark were even more elevated.
Back when Alvin stayed in the Millennium Castle, Arcueid drunk his blood and nearly gave him a true First Embrace…
Although he absolutely refused at the time.
But even so, that mark had quietly remained in his body all this time.
Now, as Arcueid tried to reactivate the ritual, as expected, the mark erupted in response.
And along with it, Arcueid's frozen heart began to pound.
Her golden lashes fluttered.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Her heartbeat thundered like an avalanche.
…It really is him.
He was alive.
The number of people Arcueid had tried to give the High-Grade First Embrace to was incredibly small.
In fact, there had only ever been one.
And he had rejected her back then.
Now, that very same White Dragon of Britain, was the boy she had once kept in her castle.
Artoria and Morgan stared in disbelief at the First Embrace mark glowing on Alvin's neck.
Well...how could one describe such a feeling?
It was like finding out your boyfriend had once dated someone else, and that his ex's name was tattooed on his neck.
And now that ex had come knocking on the door and was showing off the tattoo to everyone's face.
If the genders were reversed, this would be some classic NTR plot...uhem actually, it doesn't matter if the genders were reversed or not, it was exactly an NTR plot, but Arcueid Brunsteid, obviously didn't seem to realize any of that.
At this moment, she was still immersed in her unexpected joy.
Originally, the only reason, she came to Earth was to become the planet's next Ultimate One (UO), both to fulfill an old promise and to preserve herself.
After all, she was neither part of Gaia nor Alaya, and due to her unique existence, the Counter Force would eventually move to erase her.
To escape that fate, she had to replace the Counter Force as Earth's dominant will.
And her first move was to kill the White Dragon of Britain.
But who would have guessed that she'd find her long-lost lover instead?
Still…
If he really died back then, how was he standing here now?
Her scarlet eyes grew cold once more as she stared at the mark on Alvin's neck with a subtle frown.
"What did you mean just now?"
Suddenly, Morgan's voice cut through the tension.
"Do you know Alvin?"
As she spoke, her eyes darted back and forth between Alvin and Arcueid, and a heavy sense of dread crept into her chest.
However, Arcueid barely spared her a glance.
"Do I owe you an explanation, Witch of Britain?"
The insult made Morgan's expression darken beneath her veil, and her gaze toward Arcueid turned dangerously sharp.
If not for Arcueid's earlier use of Imaginary Element Manifestation, Morgan probably wouldn't have bothered with words.
In the Type-Moon world, Magic and Magecraft were vastly different.
A Magician was not simply a powerful mage—they were on another plane entirely.
A Reality Marble was a type of "pseudo, Imaginary Element Manifestation"—a bounded field where the caster's internal world overwrote reality.
But Arcueid's Imaginary Manifestation was on a different level.
She could create a world of her own, one that bent to her will entirely.
It was a power exclusive to True Ancestors, and one she had used to avoid being erased by the Counter Force for centuries.
If a Reality Marble was the closest thing to forbidden magic, then Arcueid's Authority was true Magic.
Behind her, the floating night-city loomed like a kingdom for giants—grand, silent, terrifying.
Inside the Millennium Castle, Arcueid Brunsteid was virtually untouchable.
To be fair, Morgan had a similar Authority: as the sovereign of the Isle, the entire land of Britain was her domain.
"You were never the person I was looking for, and there was no need to report anything to you."
Arcueid's tone was full of arrogance.
If an ordinary person heard this, they would either explode with emotion or start to retort.
But Morgan was different,
She was the witch of Britain and a well-known conspirator in Type-Moon history.
After being provoked, she simply raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "Whoever you want to find in Britain has nothing to do with me...but he is an exception."
"What do you mean?" Arcueid asked.
"Since you have inquired about various things in Britain before coming here, haven't you heard about the relationship between him and me?"
As she spoke, Morgan slowly removed her veil and lifted her head.
Her breathtaking face, illuminated faintly by the night's dim light, was so mesmerizing and enchanting that one could gaze at it forever and still not have enough.
Her watery blue eyes shimmered with irresistible charm, and the words she spoke were even more.
"If you've never heard of it, I can tell you in detail.. about the love between me and him."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the surroundings fell completely silent.
All the Round Table Knights who were secretly eavesdropping instantly felt their scalps go numb.
Those who knew King Arthur's temperament were especially wishing they could vanish on the spot.
'This.. We just wanted to enjoy some gossip, not get ourselves killed!'
Truth be told, the complicated relationship between Alvin and the two beautiful sisters of Britain was something every knight had at least vaguely heard about.
Even if they hadn't seen it firsthand, the rumors had long spread.
But knowing something in your heart and saying it aloud in public were two entirely different things.
And now Morgan was declaring her stance.. as if to say she was the true queen.
Where did that leave King Artoria?
As expected, the moment Morgan's words landed, Artoria's expression darkened, like a winter storm brewing.
Even Arcueid narrowed her crimson eyes and turned to look at Morgan.
Though she was new to this land, she had heard whispers about the so-called marriage between the White Dragon and King Arthur.
But now.. there was something between Alvin and Morgan as well?
Looks like quite a lot happened after his so-called "death."
Alvin watched them exchange words, his heart already sinking.
His eyelids twitched furiously.
'This is bad. If they keep going like this, forget Arcueid making a move — Lily and Morgan's delicate "sisterhood" is about to implode.'
'I have to do something..
Stay calm, Alvin. You're the White Dragon of Britain. You fear neither Merlin the scheming bastard nor even a Mother Goddess of creation.'
'This is just a small bump in the road, nothing more!'
The real issue right now was Arcueid.
As long as he settled things with her first, the rest would follow.
But before he could speak, Arcueid's voice cut through the air.
"..Whatever happened between you and him, I have no interest."
"Just as you surely wouldn't care about what happened between me and him back in the Millennium Castle.. am I wrong?"
Millennium Castle..?
Both Artoria and Morgan froze at those words.
So, during the years that Alvin was away, he had been to the Millennium City and had some kind of ambiguous relationship with the Moon King...?
At this time, Arcueid's cold and melancholy voice continued to sound.
"I don't know exactly what the two of you mean to him. But there is one thing I'm certain of."
Her lashes lowered slightly.
"He is neither yours, Artoria.. nor yours, Morgan Le Fay."
"Because.."
She slowly raised her gaze and when her eyes met Alvin's, the sharp coldness within them softened, just slightly.
"..His body has always borne my name."
With those words, the First Embrace mark on Alvin's neck suddenly burst forth in radiant light, declaring its presence to everyone around.
At the same time, the Millennium Castle floating in the sky seemed to pulse with a powerful suction, trying to pull Alvin into its domain.
The Millennium Castle, born from Imaginary Manifestation, had begun to erode reality itself.
And more terrifyingly, Arcueid had infused it with a special will:
— "No one without my First Embrace may enter."
The castle was her domain, her sanctuary, and with her status as a Lunar Ultimate One, anyone who entered was entirely at her mercy.
If Alvin truly fell into that space.. he'd be utterly at her disposal.
Whatever she wanted to do, she could.
Thinking about the consequences, he froze for a few seconds before snapping out of it, shouting in panic:
"Arcueid—!"
Arcueid chuckled coldly.
"Oh? So now you remember my name? Just moments ago you were acting like you didn't know me, Alvin.. or should I say, Britain's White Dragon?"
Alvin looked at the woman's cold eyes, and his heart was filled with despair and speechlessness. "..System, you son of a.. you never warned me this game would turn real!"
White Moonlight, that idealized first love, was devastating enough in memory..
But what if the White Moonlight came back for revenge?
Previously, when Alvin first encountered the [Reversal: White Moonlight EX], he had naively assumed that all he had to face were Artoria and Morgan.
One was a beauty who had only just come to understand what it meant to feel.
The other was a proud tsundere who had never known love.
Back then, he had even handled the situation with ease.
Back then... he still believed it would be easy.
But now...
Feeling the searing heat rising along his neck, Alvin kept adjusting his breathing.
The White Dragon's furnace-heart quietly activated within him, resisting the suction force of the Millennium Castle.
"You cannot be Embraced, and you can even resist the magic pressure of the Millennium Castle capable of repelling Imaginary Element Materialization?"
Looking at the young man, Arcueid's tone was quickly laced with surprise. "You've grown much stronger than before…"
"But… that doesn't mean I'm out of options.
In the next instant, she appeared at Alvin's side.
Right before the two sisters' eyes, she took his arm and pressed herself tightly against him as her heart-stopping softness enveloped his skin, along with an intoxicating scent.
At this distance, if Alvin were to retaliate, he could very well deal a fatal blow to this Ultimate One of the Moon and end here then and there.
After all, they were simply too close and she had no guard against him.
With such intimate contact, once he strikes, there would be no room to evade.
As for why she did this,
It wasn't because, she had absolute confidence in her invincibility,
It was simply because she was betting on one thing, that Alvin would not make a move.
And the truth proved she had bet correctly.
Artoria stared coldly at the Moon Princess clinging tightly to the boy. "Crimson Moon, what are you trying to do?!"
"Nothing much,"
The latter replied with a cool, breathtaking smile.
"Just catching up with an old friend…"
"And maybe, making up for some regrets of the past."
Back then, it was only after Alvin's 'death' that Arcueid Brunsteid finally realized what kind of feelings for him, and by then, it was far too late.
At that moment, she could do nothing but be consumed by remorse and guilt.
If only she had forced the Embrace upon him, turned him into a Dead Apostle, he wouldn't have died…
Such thoughts occasionally haunted her mind.
Imaginary Element Materialization could fulfill most of her wishes, but it could not conjure a person from nothing.
Even if it did, it wouldn't have been the same person, she knew.
However, now...?
Now, this man, who should have been long dead, had reappeared before her.
If she wanted to make up for those regrets, this might be the only chance she'd ever get.
"What kind of regret are you talking about?" Morgan raised her staff and pointed directed at the crimson beauty, staring at her with a cold gaze.
The Moon Princess looked up at the blood moon looming over the heavens, with a trace of wistfulness in her eyes.
"In the past, when I was with him, I once invited him to become my kin. After he refused, the matter was left unresolved."
"If only I had been a little more forceful then we might've... But because of my stupid pride, I abandoned the idea of forcibly Embracing him."
"After he was gone, I would sometimes wonder: if I had insisted back then, how different would things have turned out between us?"
"But now, seeing him again, I've come to understand—no matter what you do, you must follow your heart."
Turning her gaze to the two Britannian sisters, her cold, perfect face curved into a gentle smile.
"And so... to make up for the past—"
"I intend to hold a wedding with him here, in the Millennium Castle."
Boom!
A single, simple sentence.
Yet it struck everyone present, Alvin included, like a thunderclap.
Their minds went blank for a moment, a roaring buzz echoing through their skulls.
Artoria's lips trembled, her voice shaking from rage.
"Wh-what kind of joke is this?!"
She suddenly looked up, glaring daggers at the woman.
"Do you even realize what you're saying?! He's already married—!"
"Who said a man can only marry once?"
The latter calmly interrupted as she spoke. "Is that some kind of Earth rule? On the Moon, we don't have such limitations."
The meaning of her words was clear: Your Earthly monogamy has nothing to do with me.
We don't have such rules in the moon.
Even if there were, she could care less.
After all, she was the rule.
Hearing her words, even Morgan was stunned for a moment.
All this time, she had never once considered marrying Alvin… or rather, because her sister had already gotten there first, the only thing she ever allowed herself to imagine was having an affair with him in secret.
But now, the Moon Queen herself—
Morgan's gaze turned sharp, like a blade laced with frost.
Arcueid, however, met the sisters' unfriendly stares head-on and raised her chin with a half-smile.
"If you two are interested in the wedding, the Millennium Castle warmly welcomes you both."
.
.
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